The Journey / See it
We feed this country, build it, and heal it. We hold a fraction of the work that runs it.
Federal data, in one place. This is not a feeling and it is not an anecdote. It is the measured distance between the parity line and our share of the work that runs the country.
The Math / why it looks like progress
Representation went up. Parity went down. Both are true.
Here is the trap. Every year there are a few more Latino doctors than the year before, so it feels like we are slowly winning. We are not. The parity line is rising faster than the professions are opening. Watch both numbers at once.
The parity line
20%
+0.367 points per year, and rising
Our share of the employed labor force. This is the yardstick, and it is rising.
Latino physicians
6.7%
AAMC
This is the number people point to as progress. On its own it is real progress.
The distance
13.3
points below the parity line
The finish line is moving faster than the runner. A profession gaining less than the parity line gains is falling further behind every year.
The Gap, In One Picture
A fifth of the working country. A fraction of its best paid careers.
Each bar is the Latino share of one occupation, measured against the parity line. Read it top to bottom and the rule is plain: the better a job pays, the fewer of us it holds. Above the line sits the hands-on work that keeps the country running. Below it sit the credentialed professions that govern it.
agricultural workers
32.3 points above the parity line
general and operations managers
5.9 points below the parity line
elementary and middle school teachers
7.2 points below the parity line
registered nurses
10 points below the parity line
chief executives
11.6 points below the parity line
physicians
13.3 points below the parity line
software developers
13.9 points below the parity line
attorneys
14 points below the parity line
The Data
Every number here cites the federal source beneath it.
If a number on this page is not sourced, it does not appear on this page. The build refuses to render a figure that is not in the source of truth, that is stale, or that comes from a sample too small to mean anything.
| Profession | Latino share | Distance from parity | Employed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| agricultural workers | 52.3% | 32.3 above | 765,000 | BLS as of December 2025 |
| general and operations managers | 14.1% | 5.9 below | 1,379,000 | BLS as of December 2025 |
| elementary and middle school teachers | 12.8% | 7.2 below | 3,511,000 | BLS as of December 2025 |
| registered nurses | 10% | 10 below | 3,528,000 | BLS as of December 2025 |
| chief executives | 8.4% | 11.6 below | administrative count | BLS as of December 2025 |
| physicians | 6.7% | 13.3 below | administrative count | AAMC as of December 2024 |
| software developers | 6.1% | 13.9 below | administrative count | BLS as of December 2025 |
| attorneys | 6% | 14 below | administrative count | ABA as of December 2024 |
| Fortune 500 board seats | 5.4% | a different universe, so no gap is computed | administrative count | LCDA as of December 2024 |
How to read this page
Every number cites the named federal dataset or professional registry beneath it. A share of the employed labor force is never compared against a share of the population. If you find a number that is not sourced, write us and it gets corrected the same day.
- BLS, Current Population Survey 2025, Annual Averages, Table 11
- BLS, Current Population Survey 2025, Annual Averages, Table 11
- BLS, Current Population Survey 2025, Annual Averages, Table 11
- BLS, Current Population Survey 2025, Annual Averages, Table 11
- BLS, Current Population Survey 2025, Annual Averages, Table 11
- BLS, BLS CPS 2025 annual average
- AAMC, AAMC Physician Workforce, 2024
- BLS, BLS CPS 2025 annual average
- ABA, ABA Profile of the Legal Profession, 2024
- LCDA, LCDA Latino Board Monitor, 2024
You have seen the gap. Now see how it was built.
The distance did not appear on its own. It was made, decision by decision.
Why it happens